Guidelines for pedagogical practices to ensure research preparedness of undergraduate nursing students : a case study of institutional perspectives and practices

Abstract

Background Rigorous, reliable and credible research has proven to be the success of policy and decision - making amongst world leaders and policy- makers in the provision of healthcare. In science, research is known to be a diligent and systematic inquiry into nature and society and both these exist to validate and refine the existing body of knowledge and generate new knowledge. Progress in meeting students' educational needs with available resources requires institutional commitment to ensuring greater associations between teaching and research activity. Reputations for teaching and research are also becoming interwoven as globally, universities position themselves competitively and define their particular and distinctive approaches to knowledge transfer and knowledge acquisition. Since teaching and research are widely regarded as the two core activities of academics, it is vital to understand that the relationship between them should be enhanced by policy and pedagogical practices under respective institutional circumstances. Aim The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives, practices, and experiences of lecturers involved in research teaching, facilitation and supervision of research projects and proposals in the undergraduate (UG) nursing programme. Ultimately, the aim was to develop a set of guidelines, based on the findings of the study, that may assist to inform and advise all parties of the multiple dimensions and constraints of research methods and pedagogy. It is envisaged that this would be offered in a constructive and meaningful way. Methodology This study utilised a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive design to collect data and to understand and explore pedagogical practices as well as institutional perspectives and practices of teaching and supervising of the research module in the relevant nursing programmes. This method of inquiry assisted the researcher to gain insight and in - depth understanding of the phenomena of the study. The findings of the study, in the form of the themes that emerged, aided in the development of guidelines for pedagogical practices that would serve to ensure research preparedness of UG Nursing students and to enrich the knowledge capacity of postgraduate (PG) students in nursing research. Findings The findings of this study revealed a gap in the facilitation and teaching of research in UG Nursing education. While there has been a shift towards a research and inquiry-based learning environment across the global higher-education sector, international and local institutions are trying very hard to increase UG students’ exposure to research and inquiry, both inside and outside of the classroom, through various individual, departmental or institutional initiatives. However, the success of these initiatives is still highly dependent upon individual academics’ perceptions of the teaching and research relationship and the development of their own academic identity. The participants indicated that there was a lack of structured guidelines to inform the relevant stakeholders on the delivery of the research module in UG Nursing. The findings also revealed that the timeframes for teaching and facilitation of the research module were insufficient. The researcher developed a set of guidelines that would serve to inform and guide lecturers and facilitators of research education in UG Nursing to ensure optimum retention of knowledge capacity of research in PG Nursing and aid post–graduate students to embark on research studies with greater ease